Tag Archives: goldman sachs

Ten years ago, most Americans believed Saddam Hussein had WMDs. Today, most Americans believe Iran has nuclear weapons. And once again, Big Lie propagandists like Erin Burnett are (mis)leading us into war.

Various versions have been circulating for weeks, but if there’s anyone left in America who hasn’t seen the video of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Persian posse strolling around in those white lab coats that our perpetual war profiteers want us to believe are clear indications of their diabolical nuclear capabilities, they can view it here:

Note that CNN uploaded this video to YouTube on February 15th with the white-on-red “LIVE” text overlay intact. It wasn’t “live” then, it wasn’t “live” any of the other countless times they’ve aired it since then, and it wasn’t “live” on March 2nd when la femme fasciste Erin Burnett had it looping in background as she beat her incessant Iran War drum on the Friday evening edition of “OutFront”.

In his recent posting entitled “Insinuation as War Propaganda,” Anthony Gregory noted that in 2003 the massive media propaganda buildup leading to Bush Iraq War II had 70% of Americans believing Saddam Hussein – that “evil dictator” we once armed but ultimately executed without ever finding the arsenal of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) our talking heads guaranteed were about to rain down upon us – was personally behind 9/11. He then observed that today, barely nine years later, 71% of those same gullible boob tube couch potatoes now believe that Iran has nuclear weapons:

And they believe that despite the fact that in a January 2012 interview on “Face the Nation” former CIA Director and now Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta clearly stated that Iran has no nuclear weapons and no intentions of developing any:

And why do they believe that? Because the global corporate fascist elite that controls our government – and since Citizens United our elections – also controls the military industrial complex and mainstream media. Through the propagation and perpetuation of war, they generate profits by using the one to feed the other. But to make war they must first “manufacture consent,” because the money-making war machines of the 1 percent cannot operate without the willing cooperation and support of the other 99. And of the many modern-day Goebbels “Big Lie” propagandists paid to sell their false flag ops and other fictions to the frequently fooled, few are more “out front” about it than CNN’s Erin Burnett. As Glenn Greenwald observed:

“I just could not let go unnoted this commentary on The Iranian Threat by CNN’s Erin Burnett (“frightening,” she observed). I barely know what to say about it – the critiques of media fear-mongering I wrote the last two days apply in spades to this – but it really just mocks itself. It’s the sort of thing you would produce if you set out to create a mean-spirited parody of mindless, war-hungry, fear-mongering media stars, but you wouldn’t dare go this far because you’d want the parody to have a feel of realism to it, and this would be way too extreme to be believable. She really hauled it all out: WMDs! Terrorist sleeper cells in the U.S. controlled by Tehran! Iran’s long-range nuclear missiles reaching our homeland!!!! She almost made the anti-Muslim war-mongering fanatic she brought on to interview, Rep. Peter King, appear sober and reasonable by comparison.”

Obviously Erin Burnett is not an objective journalist, just as some say much of what CNN reports is not objective news. Erin Burnett is an alum of Citigroup, one of America’s four largest banks, and a major beneficiary of the taxpayer-funded TARP “Too Big To Fail” Bailout. Erin Burnett is also an alum of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street giant whose corrupt practices are considered a key causative factor in the global financial meltdown of 2008, and who willingly and easily paid $500 million to settle SEC charges of defrauding investors with their subprime mortgage scams. And Erin Burnett is a current member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), considered by many to be America’s more powerful foreign policy think-tank, and denounced by some as a proponent of “one world government” and instrument of the “new world order.”

Erin Burnett is a One Percenter. Should we be surprised that delivering their message is her mission?

Reddit r/Politics exists to perpetuate America’s Demopublican two-puppet political system: What you see posted on Reddit r/Politics is NOT what was SUBMITTED but what was APPROVED by their censorship system. And what Reddit calls “Karma” is actually a measure of – and psyop pressure for – groupthink conformity:

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: THE ORACLE OF OMAHA SAYS THROW’EM A BONE SO WE CAN KEEP WHAT WE OWN!
Global Revolution 1: American Revolution 2: Day 56: Communication 1
IronBoltBruce’s Kleptocracy Chronicles for 11 Nov 2011 (g1a2d0056c1)
How many examples of greed and corruption must you see before you act?

If your mind is media-managed like that of most Americans, hearing the name “Warren Buffett” immediately spawns images of a nice old man with a twinkle in his eye – and billions in the bank – who reminds you of your Grandpa (or the Grandpa you wish you had). Well, Warren Buffett is a “man” … and he is 80 years “old” … but he is NOT “nice”. Check the facts: Warren Buffett is Chairman and CEO of the Fortune 500 conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, but he had nothing to do with founding that company. Rather, he took it over so he could fire what may have been one of the last men to mess with him. It should also not go unmentioned that – given his $5 billion investment in Bank of America this past August – Buffet stood to pocket a pretty penny from their $5 debit card fees if BOA had not cowered and caved.

Through the companies and brands owned by Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett makes money off almost every American almost every day. I would wager that 90% of you reading this directly or indirectly contributed to the bottom line of more than one of Warren Buffett’s companies more than once in the past 90 days:

The GEICO Gecko, the Fruit of the Loom guys, Dairy Queen’s old-fashioned shaving bunnies, and yes even those four former General Re executives who just got their AIG-related fraud and conspiracy convictions overturned on a technicality are (or were) drummers and shills for Warren Buffett. Sensing mortality (or feeling guilty) perhaps, Buffett has made massive philanthropic moves in recent years. But I’d say his primary motivator is still greed – if not in the having, then at least in the getting. And like any winning chess player, Buffett thinks no more about sacrificing a pawn than he does about throwing dogs a bone. Just as he did here…

The following is a 14 August 2011 Op-Ed contribution by Warren Buffett to the New York Times. It is entitled “Stop Coddling the Super-Rich”, but clearly conveys the message “Throw’em a Bone So We Can Keep What We Own!”:

[The words of Warren Buffet begin here]

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Last year my federal tax bill – the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf – was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income – and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine – most likely by a lot.

To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.

I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone – not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 – shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.

Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion – a staggering $227.4 million on average – but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.

The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)

I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.

Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.

Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.

But for those making more than $1 million – there were 236,883 such households in 2009 – I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more – there were 8,274 in 2009 – I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.

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SHOW ME WHAT KLEPTOCRACY LOOKS LIKE! THIS IS WHAT KLEPTOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!

Kleptocracy [klep-TOK-ruh-see]: A government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves. See also the United States of America where, as Goethe said, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Want documented examples of the corporate greed that corrupts our government and fuels the Revolution? Find dozens here, with more to come:

IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT OF THE LAST 14 U.S. PRESIDENTS, 7 HAVE BEEN DEMOCRATS AND 7 HAVE BEEN REPUBLICANS.

Our Kleptocracy-controlled media focuses on America’s two-year election cycles as if who wins or loses in the swinging of the pendulum was a matter of life or death, when in fact even at the Presidential level it makes no more difference than the outcomes of Monday Night Football, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Hillbilly Handfishing or the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor. U.S. elections are staged primarily to give Sheeple the illusion of control so they will (a) vent their frustrations and expend their energy, emotions and resources supporting or attacking the Puppet on the Left hand or the Puppet on the Right, and consequently (b) never recognize and challenge the common omnipotent Puppetmaster.

There was no real change in 2008. There was no real change in 2010. There WILL be real change in 2012, but it won’t be coming from tele-brainwashed couch potatoes, manipulated voter lists, rigged voting machines or predetermined ballot counts. It will be coming from us…

Freedom isn’t Free! The revolution needs resources, folks: Your donations will be used to pay our living and operating expenses so we can continue to devote our full time and attention to informing the People and exposing the Kleptocracy pulling all strings Left and Right. Any amount you can spare will make a difference, so please click or go here today:

PEPSICO, QUAKER OATS & GMO: YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN
Global Revolution 1: American Revolution 2: Day 54: Communication 1
IronBoltBruce’s Kleptocracy Chronicles for 9 Nov 2011 (g1a2d0054c1)
How many examples of greed and corruption must you see before you act?

PepsiCo Inc. is a Fortune 500 global conglomerate with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc. PepsiCo has since expanded from its namesake product Pepsi to a broader range of food and beverage brands, the largest of which include an acquisition of Tropicana in 1998 and a merger with Quaker Oats in 2001 – which added the Gatorade brand to its portfolio as well.

Since 1989 Pepsico has contributed more than $10 million to federal and state political campaigns, and since 1997 they have spent an additional $28 million on lobbying. Topping their politician recipient list is former Pennsylvania House Speaker John M. Perzel, the alleged mastermind of the $13 million “Computergate” scandal that pled guilty to corruption charges and is currently awaiting sentencing. Rick Perry comes in number two, with Ed Rendel, Barack Obama and George W. Bush rounding out the top five.

We don’t know what Pepsico got from the money they gave to Perzel, but we do know at least one thing they are getting from their lobbying investment: So far, it has kept GMO warning labels off of their products.

“GMO” stands for “genetically modified organism”, i.e. organisms whose genetic material has been artificially altered using genetic engineering techniques. The USA is the largest commercial grower of genetically modified crops in the world, and at least 75% percent of the processed foods consumed in America contain GMO ingredients.

GMOs are banned or significantly restricted in 30 other countries around the world, including Australia, Japan and all of the nations in the European Union. But here in the Corporate States of America, consumers aren’t even given the benefit of GMO warning labels so they can decide for themselves if a risk exists and whether they are willing to accept it. To make matters worse, IN AMERICA IT IS LEGAL TO LABEL FOOD PRODUCTS AS “NATURAL” EVEN IF THEY CONTAIN GMO. And why are things that way? Because
profit-before-principle corporations like Pepsico – working through co-opted and false fronts like the Organic Trade Association (OTA) – lobby to keep them that way:

“General Mills (currently represented on the OTA board by Craig Weakly of Small Planet Foods), H.J. Heinz Co. (invested in the Hain-Celestial Group), PepsiCo (Tropicana and Quaker produce a few organic products), and Kellogg’s (owns Kashi), joined a coalition of corporate giants – the “Coalition Against the Costly Labeling Law” – including chemical makers Monsanto and DuPont, agribusiness ConAgra, food processor Sara Lee, the pesticide lobbying group CropLife and the junk food lobbying group the Grocery Manufacturers Association, in spending some $5.5 million to defeat mandatory GMO labels.”

So before you sit down for your next piping-hot bowl of “healthy living” Quaker oatmeal, consider this:

“Quaker Oats states that it is an ‘all-natural’ product. Pepsico/Quaker Oats manages a processing plant that emits roughly 19,000 pounds of sulfuryl fluoride yearly. Sulfuryl fluoride is a toxic greenhouse gas used to treat crops like oats in storage.”

This document contains links shortened using http://tinyurl.com to facilitate emailing. If you are concerned that we would use them to cloak phishing or malware, you should open them with this: http://longurl.org

###

SHOW ME WHAT KLEPTOCRACY LOOKS LIKE! THIS IS WHAT KLEPTOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!

Kleptocracy [klep-TOK-ruh-see]: A government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves. See also the United States of America where, as Goethe said, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Want documented examples of the corporate greed that corrupts our government and fuels the Revolution? Find dozens here, with more to come:

IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT OF THE LAST 14 U.S. PRESIDENTS, 7 HAVE BEEN DEMOCRATS AND 7 HAVE BEEN REPUBLICANS.

Our Kleptocracy-controlled media focuses on America’s two-year election cycles as if who wins or loses in the swinging of the pendulum was a matter of life or death, when in fact even at the Presidential level it makes no more difference than the outcomes of Monday Night Football, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Hillbilly Handfishing or the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor. U.S. elections are staged primarily to give Sheeple the illusion of control so they will (a) vent their frustrations and expend their energy, emotions and resources supporting or attacking the Puppet on the Left hand or the Puppet on the Right, and consequently (b) never recognize and challenge the common omnipotent Puppetmaster.

There was no real change in 2008. There was no real change in 2010. There WILL be real change in 2012, but it won’t be coming from tele-brainwashed couch potatoes, manipulated voter lists, rigged voting machines or predetermined ballot counts. It will be coming from us…

Freedom isn’t Free! The revolution needs resources, folks: Your donations will be used to pay our living and operating expenses so we can continue to devote our full time and attention to informing the People and exposing the Kleptocracy pulling all strings Left and Right. Any amount you can spare will make a difference, so please click or go here today: